Born in the US and raised in a traditional Mexican household speaking Spanish, Guadalupe didn’t speak English until kindergarten and was considered a foreigner. To this day, she finds nothing more fulfilling than helping translate for people because she hated it when she was that person that people didn’t understand.
TRANSCRIPT:
I think the one instance when I realized that I was just a little different than the Carla’s and the Sandy’s of the world was— growing up we always wanted a dog and that was because it was the normal pet to have. You would go to a friend’s house and they would have the fish or the cat or the dog. At my house we had chickens and we had a rooster and that was our pets. My mom is from Leon Guanajuato and my dad is from a small town outside Guadalajara called Guachinango. Our household was a very traditional Mexican household. We spoke Spanish at home because that was what we needed to do and my parents wouldn’t have it any other way, so I didn’t speak English until I went to Kindergarten actually. I was enrolled in an ESL class and I was considered a foreigner.
There is nothing more fulfilling for me personally than when I could help translate for someone whether it is a woman who you can vividly see is struggling to speak English and the cashier is giving her this like ‘O my gosh, can you hurry up woman, what do you want’? You hate it when you are that person that people don’t understand. I hate it, and you look, they are not stupid they are people too but people often times dismiss them and kind of, you know, often sweep them under the carpet because they feel like ‘ hey you can’t communicate with me, I shouldn’t even waste my time on you’ and it’s not right. Now, my freaking make-up is messed up so I don’t know if I want to continue anymore. Thank you.
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